


Somebody to Love

by Tea_For_One_Please



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Relationships, Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Endgame Byler, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Short Chapters, Songfic, and each song describes a different point in mike and will's relationship, basically each chapter is based on a different song, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-06-26 14:38:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19770301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_For_One_Please/pseuds/Tea_For_One_Please
Summary: Will has always loved music. But what he's starting to realise is that he's also always loved Mike.





	1. Somebody to Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Each chapter will be based on a period-relevant song, which I think describes the journey of Mike and Will's relationship. Enjoy :)

_Every morning I get up, I die a little,_  
_Can barely stand on my feet,_  
 _Take a look in the mirror and cry,_  
 _Lord, what you're doing to me..._

Will sighed as he heard the familiar words. He wasn't sure if Freddie Mercury meant them in the way he interpreted them, but they hit home nonetheless. It had only been recently that he had started to wonder if there was something... different about him.

Well, maybe not so recently. His dad had always made it very clear that Will was odd, from his fashion choices, to his drawing, to his stories, to his choice of friends. It had been a long time since Will had felt like he fit in, he thought, as he heard his mother shouting down the phone at his father. Once again he had promised to take Will to a football game, and once again he had not arrived to pick him up.

"This is the third time this month, Lonnie!" He heard her angry voice and winced. "You complain that he doesn't like you, and wonder why, when you never spend any goddamn time with him!" He would never say so, but he was honestly relieved that he had not appeared; every time his father took him to a game, or fishing, or worst of all, hunting, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was trying to make him more normal. And if his latest realisation about himself was accurate, Will Byers certainly was not that.

Sixth grade had started a few months ago, and the three friends around whom he had always felt comfortable had changed a little. Not so much that they were unrecognisable, but it was frustrating nonetheless. Mike still spent weeks at a time intricately planning storylines for their DnD campaigns. Will could still spend hours talking Lord of the Rings with Lucas. And the pretend lightsaber fight he'd had with Dustin only a week ago had become so intense that it had left Will with a small bump on his forehead.

In other ways, however, they had changed in ways Will had not. After the battle, Dustin, whom Will thought had never spoken to a girl in his life, assured Will that Jennifer Haynes had sustained a similar injury and recovered in no time. Lucas had started nodding and smirking at the girls he passed as they traversed the corridors together. (Where he had learned to do this, Will could not fathom). As for Mike, he had just returned from two weeks of following Marcia Potts around like a lost puppy, pulling her pigtails at occasional intervals. The only reason he had stopped pursuing her at all was because he had made her cry, and a teacher had told him off.

But Will? He still found himself looking to Mike for guidance, and reassurance. He still hung on his words more than anyone else's. More than once, he caught himself glancing over at him as they changed for P. E. He found himself remarking the way in which Mike's curls fell around his ears, and it wasn't until Dustin made a similar comment about Jennifer that he realised why. _Oh._

So it was true, after all, that which his father had always thought. He was queer. Or gay, or whatever the word was. He liked boys, at any rate. He kept pondering this over the coming weeks, making half-hearted attempts to join in with the others' girl talk, a sense of despair gradually washing over him. How could someone like him ever find love in a small, conservative town like Hawkins?

 _I've spent all my years in believing you,_  
_But I just can't get no relief, Lord,_  
 _Somebody, somebody,_  
 _Can anybody find me_  
 _Somebody to love?_


	2. I'm Still Standing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so these first two chapters are quite short, but it turns out Chapter 3 is not, so advance warning that it's getting more intense than I planned!

_You could never know what it's like,_   
_Your blood like winter freezes just like ice,_   
_And there's a cold lonely light that shines from you,_   
_You'll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use..._

"It was horrible, Mom," he said, clinging to her like a koala to a tree. "I saw..." but he couldn't finish the sentence.

"It's okay, Will, I understand," Joyce soothed.

"No, you don't," he whispered. He could feel himself shaking from head to foot. He glanced around the room, forcing himself to realise that he was in his own room. The lights were on. It was warm, and there were no vines creeping up the walls. No weird spores in the air, which tasted fresh and clean. No Demogorgon. "You don't understand."

"You know you can talk to me, don't you?" Jonathan said gently, glancing momentarily at Will from the driver's seat. Will was dozing off, but started at the sound of his brother's voice.

"I know," he said, offering nothing more.

"Because it's true what they say," he went on. "It's okay to not be okay."

"I know," Will repeated. Jonathan was silent for a minute.

"You know it's not good to keep everything inside," he added.

"Will you just drop it?" Will snapped suddenly. Jonathan blinked in surprise and bit his lip. "I'm fine."

"Will, are you alright?" Mike's worried, freckled face searched Will's, trying to discern what was going on. Will looked up at the three of them, all pyjama-clad, their expressions lined with concern. Will nodded vacantly.

"Bad dream," he said, his voice shaky. The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck were standing on end, and his forehead was damp with sweat.

"About the Upside Down?" Lucas asked. Will nodded again.

"Yikes, that's rough," said Dustin sympathetically. "Don't worry, I think we all get dreams about that week." Will looked reproachfully at him, as Mike smacked him around the head.

"It'll get better," Lucas said. He was clearly trying to be supportive, but it made Will grind his teeth in irritation.

"Do you want to go back to sleep?" Mike said gently. Will shook his head slowly, so Mike crossed the basement and dragged his sleeping bag across until it was adjacent to Will's. "You guys can go back to sleep," he said to Lucas and Dustin. "I'll wait up with Will."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." They shrugged, and returned to their respective sleeping bags. Their nervous glances in his direction did not escape Will's notice. "I'm sorry," Mike said quietly when they were settled.

"What for?" asked Will, turning his head to face him.

"I don't know," said Mike. "I just... wish I could make things better." Will couldn't suppress a smile.

"Ever the paladin," he murmured, and Mike smiled back at him. "You don't need to do anything else."

_Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did?_   
_Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid..._


	3. Missing You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the Mind Flayer, Will struggles to deal with his feelings and his best friend's new relationship.

_Every time I think of you,_  
_I always catch my breath,_  
_And I'm still standing here,_  
_And you're miles away,_  
_And I'm wondering why you left..._

"Want to come over tonight?" Will asked. He could see his mom's car across the school parking lot, but pretended he hadn't spotted her and looked up at Mike instead. A guilty look crossed his best friend's face.  
"Sorry, Will, I can't." He hesitated.  
"El?" Will said, stamping down the bitterness in his voice. Mike nodded.  
"Another night, yeah?" Mike said, smiling reassuringly.  
"Sure," said Will, forcing a smile in return.  
"See you tomorrow," Mike said, swinging a leg over his bike and pedalling away. Will raised a hand in farewell and trudged slowly through the slush towards the car. Christmas had come and gone, and the snow had done much the same. Will looked down, dodging puddles, and fumed.

This was the third time in a week that Mike had blown him off to go and see El. And in truth, he understood. He knew what a strong connection they'd had, and that they hadn't seen each other in a year before the 'Incident', as the Party cryptically called it. Lucas and Max were off together as well, and Dustin was out of town for a relative's funeral, leaving Will alone.

 _Mike could at least have invited me along,_ he thought crossly. After all, it wasn't like Will and El didn't get along - quite the opposite. A small part of him wanted to hate her for depriving him of his best friend almost every day of the week, but she had sort of saved his life twice. And, of course, there was the fact that she was just so nice. Will found to his disbelief that he could talk to her more than anyone except Mike. On the few occasions they had hung out alone, he had told her about everything that had happened to him, in the Upside Down and with the Mind Flayer, confiding in her to a degree he had with no one else, not even Mike. What with the suspicious amount of time his mother was spending with Hopper, he found that he was starting to see El less as a friend and ally, and more like a sister.

But now, in his mind, she was just 'Mike's girlfriend', who was responsible for making him spend the evening with his mother again, and frankly, he was pissed. Even Jonathan was out with Nancy, to the surprise of no one.  
"Hey, sweetie," Joyce said cheerfully, taking his P.E. bag from him as he drew nearer. "How was your day?"  
"It was fine," Will shrugged, dropping into the passenger seat. She frowned.  
"What happened?"  
"Nothing," he said, feigning confusion. "Why?" She gave him a look.  
"You can talk to me, you know," she said. She wiggled her eyebrows playfully. "Girl problems?"  
"Not with me," Will said, grimacing. "Mike's gone to see El again."  
"Ah," said Joyce, connecting the dots. "You wanted to spend time with him?"  
"It keeps happening."  
"It's not very surprising, honey," said his mother. "I don't really know how boys' brains work, but... I don't know," she shrugged. "I'm sure you'll understand one day." Will gave a derisive laugh.

That evening, Will had retreated to his room and was sketching. He had got out of the habit of drawing after the Incident, when he had come home and seen his tunnel map plastered over every wall in the house. In an agitated frenzy, he had torn down the ones in his bedroom, revolted by what they signified, and by the deaths he felt he had caused because of the map. He threw the papers into the hall for someone else to deal with, and had slammed his door behind him. Only then did his eyes fall on his desk, resting on the horribly accurate rendition of his vision of the Mind Flayer. This one he took outside to burn, watching it crumble to ash, hatred boiling his blood.

That night, he made a silent vow to never draw again, and perhaps his mother noticed that he had stopped, as on Christmas Day, he unwrapped a sketchbook, a packet of shading pencils, and a tin of watercolour paints.  
"I wondered if you'd like to try painting," she had said quietly. Will had said nothing, but smiled sadly at her; the next morning, he'd woken early and vaguely sketched his view from his bedroom window, before filling in the pencil lines with his new paints. This done, he renounced his oath, and pinned the painting above his desk to remind himself not to let his past define his future. His therapist commended this action, deeming it "the start of the healing process."

Suddenly, from his nightstand, his SuperComm crackled. He jumped up and dived for it. "Please be Mike, please be Mike," he whispered as he pulled up the aerial. "This is Will, I copy. Repeat, over."  
"Will? It's Max."  
"Oh," said Will, trying not to be disappointed. "Everything okay?" He never bothered with radio etiquette with Max, as there really wasn't much point, since she only laughed at it.  
"Lucas got grounded, and Billy's being a nightmare."  
"You want to come over?" Will said, flopping back onto his bed. Even if it wasn't Mike, he was relieved to have company.  
"Can I?"  
"Head on out, I'll tell my mom you're coming."

Twenty minutes later, Will was perched on his bed, and Max was spinning in his desk chair, chatting and laughing.  
"I can't believe Lucas got grounded," Will said between breaths of laughter. "Did you actually see him crash?" Max shook her head, still giggling.  
"I was ahead of him, and he was yelling at me to slow down, when I suddenly heard this crash and a shout." She wiped her eyes. "And the idiot had biked into the back of old Mrs Jenkins' car. She was so angry." She sobered up a little. "Not like you to be by yourself on a Friday night, though. Where's Mike?"  
"I'll give you one guess," Will sighed.  
"With El?" Max ventured. Will nodded. "Boys suck," she said simply, and Will grinned.  
"Thanks."  
"Not you," she added affectionately. "You're the only nice one." Will was silent for a moment, miles away. "Will?" He looked back at her, back in the room. "Everything okay?"  
"Can I tell you something?" he said nervously. She put down the Rubik's cube she'd been twiddling and looked carefully at him.  
"Of course."  
"I... I like Mike."  
"Well, of course you do," said Max. "You're very clearly his best friend. So do I, now. We all do."  
"No, you don't understand," Will almost whispered. "I _like_ him. Like... you like Lucas."  
"Oh." She saw that tears were forming in his eyes and crossed the room to join him on the bed. "Come here," she said gently, and Will fell into her arms and buried his face into her shoulder. "It's okay." They stayed there a little while, Will crying quietly, and Max stroking his hair, thinking. Finally he pulled away and rubbed his eyes.  
"Sorry," he sniffed.  
"First of all, never say that again," she said firmly, and he smiled. "Second, it's okay that you like Mike. I know that probably seems difficult to believe, but I lived in California. It's not like Hawkins, people are different there, and like people who are different. You might like boys forever, but you won't always be here. Okay?" Will nodded. "Third, these feelings you have for Mike will pass in time. Someday you'll move away from Hawkins, find an awesome boyfriend at college who's way cooler than Mike, and you'll look back at tonight and wonder why you were ever worried." Will sniffed and smiled.  
"Thanks." She ruffled his hair.  
"No problem, buddy. It won't go away straight away, though," she said, more softly. "Until it does, you can talk to me, okay? Don't keep it all bottled up." He nodded once more. "Cocoa?" she suggested brightly, pulling him up to his feet and towards the kitchen.

 _I spend my time_  
Thinking about you,  
And it's almost driving me wild,  
And that's my heart that's breaking  
Down this long distance line tonight...


	4. Can't Fight This Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life after Hawkins is a little different for Will and El – and Mike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS FOR STRANGER THINGS SEASON 3
> 
> ***
> 
> Okay, anyone who knows me knows there was a LOT about ST3 I did not like. But the Byers and El moving away from Hawkins is a good concept, merely poorly executed, so I decided to run with it (and shoehorn in the Will/El sibling content I crave).

_I can't fight this feeling any longer,_  
_And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow,_  
_What started out as friendship has grown stronger,_  
_I only wish I had the strength to let it show,_

 _I tell myself that I can't hold out forever,_  
_I say there is no reason for my fear,_  
_'Cause I feel so secure when we're together,_  
_You give my life direction, you make everything so clear..._

"Hey, you alright?" Will leaned over to El and poked her with his pen. She nodded without looking up. He glanced up to check their teacher wasn't watching, and poked her again. She glared at him, and shifted two inches in her seat so that she was out of his reach. He rolled his eyes, and tore one of the corners off his notebook. He scribbled _friends don't lie_ in his sharp, half-cursive writing and passed it over to El. He didn't see her reaction, but she passed it back less than thirty seconds later; he flipped it over to read the words _cheap blow, Byers_ written in her neat print on the other side. Will frowned, but presently he heard her tear her own notebook, and she passed over a note saying _talk to you later_.

Will and El were in separate classes for their next period, so agreed to reconvene at lunch. They would never admit it to Joyce, but they didn't really like the new school. In one sense, moving away and starting a new school had come at the best possible time, as they were starting high school anyway. However, their new town, though bigger than Hawkins, was still hardly a metropolis, and the school was small enough that friendship groups were already established, and Will and El were quickly identified for what they were - the quiet boy with the bowl cut and his weird sister with the flashy clothes. No one was openly unpleasant to them, but after nearly two months of the new school year, no one had made an effort to befriend them either.

As such, they tended to avoid the cafeteria. Their first few days they had tried splitting up and mingling with the other students, but quickly found that they were not welcome, so generally passed their hour on a bench in a quiet courtyard, chatting. This time, El was already there, looking disapprovingly at the corned beef sandwich Joyce had packed for her.

"I got your sandwiches again," she said by way of greeting. Will grimaced, reached into his backpack and handed over her peanut butter sandwich with revulsion. He sat down next to her and they ate in silence for a minute or so.

"So," said Will eventually.

"So," El echoed. Will waited for her to continue, but she didn't.

"You going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to use telepathy?"

"Telepathy's good," El said indistinctly through a mouthful of her sandwich. He nudged her with his shoulder.

"Come on, El," he said, less irritably. "Maybe I can help." She gave a mirthless laugh.

"I doubt it," she said. "Mike and I broke up." Will stopped eating.

"You're serious?" She nodded. "Why?"

"I guess I couldn't handle the distance," she said thoughtfully. "We've been fighting a lot lately. And the other night I called Max to ask for her advice."

"What did she say?"

"That if a couple can't handle a little time apart," El said slowly, "they probably have other problems under the surface."

"Oof, that's putting it bluntly," said Will, but El shook her head.

"I think she was right." She took another bite of her sandwich. "I called Mike, and we talked about it. For ages, actually."

"I wondered why you were on the phone so long."

"We agreed it was for the best. It was perfectly..." She paused, searching for the right word.

"Civil?" Will suggested, and she looked quizzically at him. "It means... kind of calm and respectful."

"That's it," she nodded. "Civil."

"Are you okay about it?"

"I'm sad, obviously," she said. "But I think we did the right thing, especially since I've been wondering for a while if there was someone else he was keen on." Will suddenly had a horrible thought.

"Tell me he's still coming for Thanksgiving," he said, and El gave him a withering look.

"You really think he'd pass up an opportunity to see you?"

It seemed to Will that the four weeks until Thanksgiving seemed to last as long as the rest of the year had so far. "A watched pot never boils," his mother always said in response to his impatience, and he couldn't get the phrase out of his mind. He was going to tell Mike how he felt. He'd waited long enough, and he might never get another chance. El's words about Mike liking someone else lingered in the forefront of his mind. If he waited, Mike get another girlfriend. Or boyfriend.

Of course, Will realised, that could still happen. He wasn't naïve enough to think that his confession would change Mike's perspective on their whole friendship. But I'm stupid enough to try, he thought. After all, it was not only probably pointless, it was risky. Will had shared enough uncomfortable conversations with Mr and Mrs Wheeler to know that they were not exactly liberals (to put it lightly). Although Will had never observed any evidence of it, it was no small possibility that Mike had learned to imitate their deep-rooted prejudices, so it was with a sick feeling in his stomach that Will dressed himself on the morning Mike was due to arrive. Nancy was driving them both over, but it was at least a three-hour drive, and Mrs Wheeler had telephoned a little after 8am to announce their departure.

Will sat at the dining room table, bouncing his knee and staring out of the window into the street. El appeared in his field of vision, and he dragged his eyes away from the window to look at her. He smiled when she came into focus; she and Joyce had recently gone shopping for some new fall-winter clothes for her, and her signature style had apparently come through in these, too. A baggy multicoloured striped sweater covered the hem of a black shin-length skirt with white polka dots, which she brushed down as she looked to Will for approval.

"What do you think?" she said. Will raised an eyebrow.

"I know what Mom'll say," he remarked.

"The two-different-patterns thing?" she said, frowning. He nodded. "Do you think I should change?"

"Absolutely not." A tan estate car drove past the house and Will leapt to his feet.

"Calm down, it's not them," she said, her eyes widening.

"I know," said Will, sitting back down with dignified nonchalance.

"Why are you so worked up?" she said. "It's only Mike and Nancy." Will hesitated, then decided to tell her the truth. It poured out of him, and she sat in silent surprise when his little speech finished.

"El?" Still nothing. "Okay, I know you can't use your powers to kill me any more, but are you mad?" She still didn't say anything, but walked behind his chair. Will flinched, but she only wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned down to bury her face in his hair. "El?"

"I'm not mad," she said, her voice muffled. She released him and went to sit on the other side of the table. "Do it. Tell him," she said firmly.

"Really?"

"Really," she echoed. "Just because he was my boyfriend doesn't mean he can't be yours. Besides," she added, "even if he doesn't want to be your boyfriend, he definitely loves you."

"That's just it," said Will. "I'm a little worried that he won't even want to be my friend any more."

"Why?" El looked puzzled, but Will didn't have the heart to tell her. The cold harshness of humanity could cripple her innocence another day.

 _And even as I wander,_  
_I'm keeping you in sight,_  
 _You're a candle in the window_  
 _On a cold dark winter's night,_  
 _And I'm getting closer_  
 _Than I ever thought I might..._

Suddenly they heard the puttering of an engine slowing down and stopping on the driveway. Will froze. El gave him a look before pulling him towards the door as the doorbell sounded. They had a three-second silent argument over who would open the door, before El glared at him so forcefully that Will almost shrivelled, and he pulled it open.

"Nancy, Mike! Come in, happy Thanksgiving!" Will said cheerfully, ushering them in. Nancy hugged El as Will leaned up on his toes to hug Mike; Will noticed that Mike held him a little tighter and a little longer than he remembered. Finally he let him go and stepped back to let him in. Mike and El smiled at each other, and Nancy and Will looked pointedly away as they shared a brief, vaguely awkward hug.

"Good to see you," El said honestly. Then, very tactfully, she took Nancy to find Jonathan.

"God, I've missed you," Mike said simply once they were gone, and Will felt a ripple of hope flutter in his chest. Not, "we've missed you." Mike specifically said _I_.

"I missed you too," said Will, smiling shyly.

"You've changed a lot," said Mike, shoving his hands in his pockets and lifting his shoulders almost to his ears. Will remarked with interest this was what he did when he was anxious, or better yet, flustered. But he was right - Will had changed a lot.

He had realised within a week of starting school that nobody was sporting a bowl cut any more, and in an uncharacteristically bold move, he had scheduled himself an appointment at the nearest barber's shop. His chestnut-coloured hair was now swept across to the side, and neatly gelled in place. He'd had it shortened at the back and the sides too, and it was only now that he became self-conscious that his ears were very visible for the first time in his life.

School had also given him another epiphany. At Hawkins Middle, he and the others had always sat in the front two rows. Now, however, he routinely found himself at the back of the classroom, and had realised he couldn't really read what was being written on the blackboard. Joyce had taken him to an eye doctor, and he had acquired a smart pair of glasses with dark green metal frames, which the optical assistant said brought out his eyes.

"I guess," Will shrugged, and grinned as he looked Mike up and down. "You haven't." Same old button-downs under dorky sweaters, although for the occasion a smart pair of corduroys had replaced his jeans.

"Perhaps not," Mike said, blushing a little.

"El told me," Will said hesitantly, "about, you know." Mike gave a non-committal hum. "Look, I know – " Will started.

"About that – " Mike said simultaneously, and they both stopped. "Sorry, you go."

"I know," Will said again, "this probably isn't the best time to say this, so I'm sorry, but I didn't want to, I don't know, miss my chance." Mike looked curiously at him. "I like you, Mike. Like, like you. I have for ages, actually, but there's never been a good time to say it. And I'm not expecting you to say it back, or anything, but I just wanted to tell you, and I hope you don't hate me." He had said all of this in two breaths, and had addressed this to Mike's knees, his face scarlet, but he now looked up to Mike's face to see an expression of utter bemusement.

"I don't hate you," was the first thing he said. "Quite the opposite, in fact." Now it was Will's turn to look puzzled. "That was pretty much what I was going to say."

"Oh," was the only word he could think of.

"I think I kind of knew when you announced that you were leaving, because I was way more upset because you were leaving than because of El. But I knew I still kind of liked her, so when she, kind of, started things up again, I went along with it." Mike was now the one looking embarrassed. "I shouldn't have done that, I know, and frankly, I don't know why I did. When she suggested we broke up again last month, the reason I agreed so fast was because I had just properly figured out that it wasn't her I liked after all." Will remained silent. "It's you, Will," he said, in a voice so soft that it made Will want to cry. "And now..." Will closed the distance between them and took one of Mike's hands in his own.

"Want to try it?" Will asked nervously.

"Try... what exactly?"

"You really are rubbish at this," Will chuckled, rolling his eyes fondly. "Try... going out, I suppose. Being boyfriends."

"Boyfriends," Mike mused, rolling the word around his mouth like a gumdrop. "We'd have to be careful," he said thoughtfully.

"Of course."

"We couldn't tell anyone."

"Not straight away, at least," Will agreed.

"And it'd be difficult, with you being here," Mike added. Will gave him a look.

"If you don't want to..." He made to pull his hand away, but Mike held on fast.

"I do," he said hastily. "I really do. I'm just saying..."

"Believe me, Mike," Will said drily, "I've been imagining this scenario for long enough to know the dangers." Mike smiled at that. "So," Will added hesitantly. "Shall we?" Mike hesitated only a second before nodding, smiling, and pulling Will towards him and wrapping his arms around him. Mike pressed his nose into Will's hair and breathed in his scent, familiarising himself with it once more. Will buried his face into the crook of Mike's arm, feeling happier than he could ever have imagined. Finally he pulled away.

"Where are you going?" Mike complained. "I was enjoying that."

"I have to help Jonathan with the firewood," Will grinned. "You can survive a few minutes without me, right?"

Mike smiled. "Well, we waited long enough, didn't we?"

 _'Cause I can't fight this feeling any more,_  
_I've forgotten what I started fighting for,_  
_It's time to bring this ship into the shore,_  
_And throw away the oars forever,_

 _'Cause I can't fight this feeling any more,_  
_I've forgotten what I started fighting for,_  
_And if I have to crawl upon the floor,_  
_Come crashing through your door,_  
_Baby, I can't fight this feeling any more_


	5. Mad About You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the summer of 1986, and Mike and Will are reunited once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written simply because I'm consistently disappointed by fics that finish with the couple getting together without exploring their relationship.
> 
> I hope you've enjoyed this - I have! The next chapter of A Light in the Darkness is the next thing to upload, so keep an eye out for that if you're following it. And if you're not, go read it :D

_I'm mad about you,_   
_You're mad about me, babe,_   
_Couple of fools run wild, aren't we?_   
_Pushing the day into the nighttime,_   
_Somewhere between the two,_   
_We start to see..._

The last remnants of the summer day's blue skies faded to pink as the sun crept towards the horizon, casting deep orange rays over Hawkins. Only the sprinklers broke the silence of the tranquil evening as Will stood anxiously outside the Wheelers' big house.

"Quick, quick!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

"Someone'll see!"

"Someone'll hear if you don't shut up!" Will rolled his eyes at Mike's words, tapping his foot impatiently as he looked up at his boyfriend (yes, his boyfriend!) climbing out of his bedroom window. Suddenly Mike dropped down, tumbling on the lawn with a grunt of exertion, but he didn't get up.

"Shit, you okay?" Will hurried over to check he was okay, kneeling down and leaning over him. Mike didn't move, and Will started to feel alarmed. "Mike?"

Mike opened his eyes sharply and jerked upwards. "Boo!" He stopped his face an inch from Will's, who stumbled back, startled. He lost his balance and fell over, while Mike flopped back onto the grass, rolling around with laughter.

"You bastard," Will hissed good-naturedly, readjusting his glasses, which had slipped off of one ear. Suddenly a figure passed the window, and Mike leapt to his feet.

"Shit!" He pulled Will off the grass and they pressed their backs against the wall along the side of the house. They almost held their breath as they heard the study window roll upwards.

"Who's there?" Karen Wheeler's sharp voice pierced the silence, and Will stifled a giggle. They heard the window close, and Will made to go, but Mike caught his wrist and shook his head.

"This way," he whispered, leading him around the back of the house; they vanished moments before Ted Wheeler came round the side where they'd been hiding, wielding a flashlight and rolling pin. Ducking below the windows, Mike grabbed his bike, then they snuck back around the front so that Will could retrieve his own. They pedalled quickly away, disappearing from view just as Mr Wheeler finished his circuit around the house, looking thoroughly baffled.

"That was close," Will called back to Mike, his voice shaking with careless, breathless laughter.

"Stop," Mike shouted back, also almost overcome with mirth. They stumbled off their bikes onto the sidewalk, and laughed until they were weak.

"That was such a stupid idea," Will chuckled when he could speak again. "Why didn't we just sneak out of your basement?"

"Yeah, that would have been easier," Mike wheezed, rubbing the stitch in his side. "Still, it worked, didn't it?" He leaned against a tree and exhaled deeply, trying to breathe evenly.

"Only you could get grounded when you have a friend staying with you," Will said, starting to laugh weakly again.

"Oh, shut up," Mike said, closing his eyes and smiling. Will grinned and slipped his hand into Mike's.

"Come on," he said. "We'd better get a move on if we're going to catch this sunset." They abandoned their bikes and started walking through the woods, swinging their joined hands as they walked and chatted. Soon they emerged to a clearing overlooking the old quarry, where El had once saved Mike's life nearly three years prior. Will pulled a rug out of his backpack and set it down a few feet from the cliff edge. Mike looked mildly apprehensive, but approached nonetheless, half-lying next to Will, looking out at the sunset.

"As dates go," Mike said, "you know this is about the cheesiest thing you could have chosen, right?" Will stuck out his tongue.

"It was El's idea; I thought it'd be nice." He dipped back into his pack and pulled out two bottles. Mike's eyebrows raised.

"Well, now it's a party."

"It's ginger beer, doofus." Will said, passing one over with a bottle-opener. Mike tossed the cap into the quarry, and Will tutted his disapproval. He held up his bottle nonetheless, and a soft *clink* sounded between as Mike tapped his against it.

They sat in silence for a few minutes as they drank. Mike drained his quite quickly, but Will took his time, sipping it peacefully as he gazed out over the quarry. Mike, however, couldn't bring himself to look at the sunset, as he was struggling to take his eyes off of Will. After nearly three months apart, communicating entirely by telephone and radio, he was struggling to take in that he was here, back in Hawkins, and staying in his house, no less. Even seven months on, he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have Will. Will, who had never given up on him, even at the times when Mike been a total asshole. Will, who was simultaneously sensitive and strong, innocent and wicked, calm and bubbling with excitement. Will, who often sat silent and listening, but who Mike knew was deeply hurt when he felt left out or ignored. Will, who had liked him for years, and had been his closest ally for even longer. Ugh, how sappy, Mike thought, but grinned nonetheless.

He broke out of his reverie to see Will looking back at him.

"Everything okay?" he asked, sounding amused.

"I... love you," Mike said, sounding surprised as the words escaped his mouth. Will broke into a smile, his ears flushing a little. Mike hadn't noticed that they did this before the new hairstyle. "I love you," he said, more confidently. Overcome with a sense of urgency, he tossed aside the empty bottle and pulled Will towards him, peppering him with kisses. "God, I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," Will murmured between kisses. Mike heard him fumbling as he put down his own bottle, before he felt Will's hands running through the curls on the back of his head. Eventually they pulled away from each other; Will held his gaze a moment, breathing hard, before a smile creased across his soft-sharp features. He looked down at Mike's hand and locked their fingers again. The sun had now sunk below the hills, a golden light still peeking out over Hawkins, the sky fading to twilight. "Damn it, Wheeler, we missed it," said Will, shaking his head as he picked up his ginger beer again.

"Your fault, Byers," said Mike firmly.

"How do you figure?"

"You made me look at you," Mike teased.

"Oh, that was entirely your decision," Will grinned, raising an eyebrow. Mike shoved him gently, and laid back, staring up at the first few stars. "Ready to go?" Will asked a few minutes later, and Mike nodded.

"Time to the wrath of Mom and Dad," he sighed. Will gave a non-committal hum.

"Even if you get grounded again," he said, "it's not like I'm going anywhere, right? You're stuck with me for good, you know." Mike smiled, and Will pulled him to his feet. "Come on." He re-packed his backpack and intertwined their hands again, and they set off together, back towards home.

_Mad about you,_   
_Lost in your eyes,_   
_Mad about love,_   
_You and I..._

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Please leave a comment or hit me up on Tumblr (@tea-for-one-please) to let me know what you thought :)


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